mmi^L^ 


mmm 


^. 


IMAGE  EVAL 
TEST  TARGEl 


,^^ 


1.0 


I.I 


m  I 

us     , 


L25  IHIU 


^# 


fV*;>, 


Phutographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


u  m 

^  U£    |2.0 

■lUU 


.-.-' 


jtogFaphic 

knences 

jiporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTEk.N.Y.  MStO 

(7I6)S72-4S03 


4 


^\ 


Mi 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Instit 


MMIHHHHtilM 


i/IH 

e 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


*£» 


reproductions  /  Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


mmmm 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Not( 


The  institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checlced  below. 


-r:!*^- 


1^71    Coloured  covers/ 
I^J    Couverture  de  couleur 

I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommag6e 

Covers  restored  and/or  lai 
Couverture  restaur6e  et/ou  peiliculAe 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  g6ographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  inic  (i.e.  other  than  blue 

Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I  I  Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

I  I  Cover  title  missing/ 

I  I  Coloured  maps/ 

I  I  Coloured  inIc  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 


I      I   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serrde  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int6rieure 

Blanic  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout^es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film^es. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl^mentaires; 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checlced  below/ 
Ce  document  est  fiimd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessa 

10X  14X  18X  Z 


\ 


12X 


ItX 


20X 


■w 


liographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


the  best 

tures  of  this 

inique, 

the 

tly  change 

ted  below. 


L'institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lul  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibllographlque,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  fllmage 
sont  indiqufo  ci-dessous. 


D 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pp:;c?  de  couleur 


i/ 
ulAe 


or  black)/ 
leue  ou  noire) 

ns/ 
uleur 


I  or  distortion 

ombre  ou  de  la 
kleure 

ition  may 
possible,  these 

nches  ajout^es 
nt  dans  le  texte, 
ces  pages  n'ont 


JZ] 
D 

n 

D 
D 
D 
D 


Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelllcul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  ddcolordes,  tachetdes  ou  plqu6es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachdes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quality  Indgale  de  I'lmpresslon 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppl^mentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  imoge/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcles  par  un  feulllet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  A  nouveau  de  fagon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


0  checked  below/ 
Btion  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


18X 


22X 


20X 


26X 

jnn 

^  24X 


30X 


28X 


32X 


'^mitk 


ml^ 


The  copy  filmad  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^»>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


1  2  3 


1  2 

4  5 


i 


cad  thanks 


L'axamplaira  filmA  fut  raproduit  grAca  i  la 
g4n*rotiti  da: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 


t  quality 

legibility 

fitha 


Laa  images  suivantea  ont  4tA  reproduites  avac  ia 
plua  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  ia  nattetA  da  I'axampiaira  fiimA,  et  en 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 


are  filmed 
ing  on 
Id  impres- 
te  Ail 
ng  on  the 
mpres- 
B  printed 


Lea  axempiaires  originaux  dont  ia  couvarture  an 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sont  filmAs  Wi  commen^ant 
par  ia  premier  plat  at  an  terminant  solt  par  ia 
darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  exempiairea 
originaux  sont  fiimte  en  commenpant  par  ia 
pramlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impreaaion  ou  d'iiiustration  et  en  terminant  par 
ia  darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


fiche 
"CON- 
END"), 


Un  dee  symboies  suivants  apparaftra  aur  la 
darnlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  seion  le 
caa:  la  symbole  -^  aignifie  "A  SUiVRE",  le 
aymboia  y  aignifie  "FIN". 


Id  at 
ge  to  be 
med 
,  left  to 
18  aa 
ate  the 


Lea  cartes,  planchaa,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
fiimAa  A  dea  taux  de  rAduction  diff Arents. 
Loraque  la  document  eat  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  ciichA,  il  est  f  llmA  A  partir 
da  i'angie  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  baa,  en  prenant  ia  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Las  diagrammes  suivants 
iliustrant  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

^'^ 


r       ' 


REMARKS 


on 


SEBASTIAN    CABOT'S    MAPPE-MONDE. 


BY 


CHARLES    DEANE. 


KBPRINTKD    FROM    THE    PROOEBDINOM    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ANTrQDARIAN 
SOCIETY,    FOR   APRIL,  1867. 


CAMBRIDGE: 

PRESS  OF  JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON. 

1867. 


^^^mm 


■er  n  ~ 


I', 


r~'Jf 


IJ> 


>    N, __,  t  v^_^ 

REMARKS 


mi 


SEBASTIAN    CABOTS    MAl'PE-MONDK. 


7 


CHARLES    DEANE. 


IlKI'lUVTKn     KIIOM    TIIK     I'ltOOKEDINOS     OF    TIIK     AMEIUCAN     AXTIQUAUIAN 
SOCIETY.    FOR    APrtlL.  1867. 


'J^: 


18C:< 


"^^^;.<^^ 


/ 


/      CAMBRIDGK: 
PRESS  OF  JOHN   WILSON  AND   SON. 
1867. 


% 


->*^..      »    WljIN  <l  ■    ■ 


3^ 


Xjl/f  K4^^  H^ 


^;^o 


^^ 


v^^ 


^\^ 


lii  liliiriiiliiiiiini  Tliwol  •  nf 


'lp;_v,;.l..^^;a.»-'^t- 


.Jai. 


ttf'* 


R  E  ^Sr  A  R  K  S 


OM 


SKBASTIAN  CADOTS  MAI-rE-MONDK. 


11 


il- 


Mr.  Deane  said,  that  he  took  that  occasion  to  for- 
mally present  to  the  Society  the  copy  of  the  Mappe' 
Monde  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  which  he  had  procured 
in  Paris  last  year,  but  which  he  accidentally  omitted 
to  take  with  him  to  the  meeting  at  Worcester,  in 
October  last.*  He  remarked,  that  it  would  always  be 
a  subject  of  regret,  that  M.  Jomard  had  not  lived 
to  complete  the  great  work  on  which  he  had  been  for 
some  years  employed,  namely,  his  »  Monuments  de  la 
Geographic,"  which  included  this  map  of  Cabot.  At 
the  time  of  his  decease,  he  was  engaged  in  the 
preparation  of  the  "  texte"  to  accompany  and  illus- 
trate the  collection  of  ancient  maps  brought  together 
in  this  work.f     His  labors,  however,  have  been  con- 


*  See  remarks  on  this  map  in  Proceedings  for  October,  1806,  pp.  12-14. 

t  This  volume  of  texle  was  expected  to  embrace  all  tiie  printed  matter 
which  is  on  the  sides  of  tlie  original  map,  as  expressed  both  in  Spanish  and 
in  Latin.  Tliese  printed  "  Icgendes  "  were  omitted  by  Jomard  on  tlie  copy 
of  the  Mappe-Monde  wliicli  lie  publislied.  M.  Jomard  died  in  tlie  latter 
part  of  the  year  1802.    A  memoir  of  him,  by  M.  de  la  Roquetto,  was  read 

before  the  Socie'te  de  Gcographie,  on  the  19th  of  December  in  that  year 

See  Bulktin  de  la  SociMde  Gcographie,  6  siJrie,  tome  v.  p.  81. 

1 


if 


"^T  '  V.'.-'T'^'^'**  ^'^tf't^  '^f'TI'." V  ''  ?  ^'  ^  P  V  "  ^71'  **r{  M^^  M'liiyi-^jyii  I  u  >  ■ 


iS' 


tinued  by  the  distinguished  scholar,  M.  D'Avezac,  from 
Avhom  the  volume  of   iexte   explkatlf  may  coon  be 

expected. 

Mr.  Deane  said,  that  since  the  publication  of  Cabot's 
map,  he  had  seen  no  complete  analysis  of  it  by  an 
historical  student,  nor  any  opinion  expressed  as  to 
whether  it  cleared  up  any  of  the  uncertainties  which 
had  long  surrounded  the  voyages  of  the  Cabots.  He 
at^reed  with  Mr.  Hale,  that  some  of  these  questions, 
one  after  another,  were  getting  solved.  The  historical 
material  recently  discovered  in  the  Venetian  and  in  the 
Spanish  archives,  and  brought  together  by  Mr.  Hale 
in  his  admirable  Report  of  the  Council  for  October, 
1865,  shows  conclusively  that  there  were  two  voyages, 

that  is  to  say,  one  in  1497,  and  one  in  1498  ;  and, 

moreover,  that  John  Cabot  was  the  person  to  be 
regarded  as  the  original  discoverer,  accompanied,  how- 
ever, by  his  son  Sebastian.  A  close  study  of  this 
map  will  probably  settle  some  other  questions.  Mr. 
Richard  Biddle,  in  his  "  Memoir  of  Sebastian  Cabot," 
contended  that  Cabot's  Prima  Vista  was  not  New- 
foundland, as  had  generally  been  supposed,  but 
Labrador.  The  land  first  seen  is  clearly  indicated  on 
the  map,  and  prima  vista,  and  again  prima  tierra 
vista,  are  marked  upon  it ;  and  it  is  very  certain 
that  it  is  neither  Newfoundland  nor  Labrador,  but 
Cape  Breton.*     The  latitude  and  longitude  given  to 


*  Michael  Lok's  map,  published  by  Hakluyt  in  his  "Divers  Voyages," 
1682.  and  "  made  according  to  Verozanus  plat,"  —  described  as  "an  olde  ex- 


. 


' 


r '  "f  :■  ■■i'*^w'iM*«iffftswwgi!«wjififti'^«*^^^  "!*"?.'!!:? 


1 

\ 


the  spot  confirm  the  other  indications  upon  the  map. 
Mr.  Biddie  was  quite  certain  that  Sebastian  Cabot 
discovered,  in  one  of  his  early  voyages,  Hudson's 
Bay ;  but  no  representation  of  that  bay  appears  upon 
the  map,  which  would  seem  to  be  conclusive  upon  that 
subject.* 

This  map  in  the  Imperial  Librai7  was  evidently 
made  during  Cabot's  residence  in  Spain ;  and  the 
printed  matter  upon  it  indicates  as  its  date  1544, 
which  was  four  years  before  his  return  to  England. 
It  is  a  sailing  chart,  and  probably  was  intended  to  em- 
brace the  geographical  discoveries  down  to  that  time. 

That  this  is  not  "  the  mappe  of  Sebastian  Cabot, 
cut  by  Clement  Adams,"  which  Hakluyt  described  in 
his  folio  of  1589  (page  511),  as  then  "to  be  seen 
in  her  Maiesties    priuie   gallerie   at  Westminster,"  f 


•J  ■ 


f 


cellent  mappe  which  he  gave  to  King  Henrie  the  eight,"  —  has  "J.  Cabot 
1497,"  inscribed  upon  a  delineation  of"  C.  Breton."  We  niuat  suppose  Lolt 
to  have  made  some  additions  to  "  Verazanus  phit." 

*  On  tlie  map  of  (Jrtelius,  published  in  1570,  there  is  delineated  wliat 
appears  to  be  the  bay  afterwards  called  "  Hudson's  Bay."  It  is  known  that 
Ortelius  had  before  liim  Sebastian  Cabot's  map ;  and  the  inference  has  been 
drawn,  that  that  map  furnished  the  authority  for  such  delineation.  But,  as 
stated  above,  it  furnishes  no  such  authority. 

t  I  suppose  the  map  described  by  Hakluyt  must  be  tlie  same  subsequently 
noticed  by  Purchas  (in  1625;  Pilgrimes,  iii.  807),  as  "the  great  Map  in  his 
Majesties  priuie  Gallerie,  of  which  SclHiMian  Cahn  is  often  tlierein  called  the 
Author,"  and  of  which  Purchas,  in  the  margin,  says,  "  This  Map,  some  say, 
was  taken  out  jf  Sir  Seh.  Cabot's  Map  by  Clem.  Adams  1549."  He  sums  up 
the  statement  as  to  the  disco\ery,  substantially  in  Hakluyt's  English  version 
which  he  says  "  are  the  wordes  of  tlie  great  Map."  He  gives  the  year  of  the 
discovery  as  "  1497,"  which  is  correct,  in  fact,  but  does  not  conform  in  that 
respect,  as  will  be  seen,  to  the  reading  in  Hakluyt's  folio  of  1589,  though  it 
does  conform  to  that  of  his  later  edition.  (See  note  following).  Though 
Purchas  may  have  seen  the  map  which  he  here  describes  "  in  his  Majesties 


'M 


\ 


uJtiJLJIII       > 


uiMriMMiftiMiiniii 


ip»iatfcjr  JMii  iitt.fc. 


is  evident  from  a  comparison  of  the  language  of  the 
extract  which  Ilakluyt  gives  from  it,  with  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Ufjende  on  the  map  in  the  Imperial 
Library.  The  parallel  passages  from  each  are  here 
given.  The  following  is  from  Hakluyt,  taken  by  him 
from  the  map  of  Clement  Adams ;  — 


priuie  Gallorie,"  he  probably  followed  Hakluyt  in  his  last  edition,  tlie  third 
volume  of  wliieh  he  cites  near  this  place  ;  and  I  sujjpose  Purchas  still  had 
his  eye  on  the  passage  in  llakluyt's  third  volume,  when  he  repeats  (iv.  1812) 
that  "  the  Map  ...  in  the  I'rivy  Gallery  hatii  1497." 

Whetlier  the  date  1549,  in  the  margin  of  Turchas,  (iii.  807,)  refers  to  the 
map  of  Cabot,  or  to  that  of  Clement  Adams  "taken  out  of"  Cabot's  map, 
may  not  be"  certain.  I  have  said  that  the  date  of  the  map  in  the  Imperial 
Library  is  1544.  That  is  the  year  given  in  section  xvii.  of  the  It'ijcmles,  which 
in  that  pi.  ^e  speak  of  Sebastian  Cabot  as  the  author  of  tiie  map. 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  there  were  two  editions  of  this  map, 
besides  the  one  cut  from  it  by  Clement  Adjinis.  In  a  volume  edited  by 
Nathan  Cliytricus,  first  published  in  1594  (referred  to  in  a  note  on  page  14  of 
the  Proceedings  for  October,  1860),  may  be  seen  tlie  Latin  li'<iemks  of  Cabot's 
map,  a  copy  of  which  the  editor  appears  to  have  found  at  Oxford.  On  page 
791,  in  section  xvii.,  the  date  1549  appears,  instead  of  1544,  as  it  is  on 
the  map  in  the  Im])erial  Library.  There  are  other  verbal  variations.  It 
has  the  impossible  date  of  1594  as  the  year  of  the  discovery,  which,  of 
course,  is  a  typograi)hical  error,  eitlier  of  the  map  seen  by  Chytra;us  or 
of  Chytricus  himself.  If  there  was  a  second  edition  of  the  map,,  it  may  have 
contained  only  the  Latin  words  which  alone  Chytrajus  copies. 

Cabot's  mips  are  referred  to  by  other  writers.  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  in 
"A  iiiscovrse  of  a  Discouerie  for  a  new  Passage  to  Cataia,"  &c.,  published 
in  1570,  speaks  of  Cabot's  "  Ciiarts,  whicli  are  yet  to  be  seen  in  the  Queenes 
Majesties  Priuie  Gallcrie  at  Whiteliall ;  "  and  Kichard  Willos,  in  his  edition  of 
"  Lden,"  p.  232,  si.eaks  of  Cabot's  *'  table,"  which  tlie  Earl  of  Bedford  "  hath  at 
Cheynies."  These  maps  are  cited  by  the  above  writers  to  prove  tlie  existence 
of  a  strait  at  the  north  through  to  the  P.acific  Ocean,  which  they  say  is 
indicated  upon  them.  If  these  maps  are  correctly  described,  it  is  certain 
tliey  cannot  be  copies  of  the  one  in  the  Imperial  Liliniry.  Gilbert's  state- 
ment as  to  tlie  latitude  attained  by  Cabot,  "07  degrees  and  a  lialfe,"  and  the 
time  at  which  he  readied  it,  "eleventh  of  June,"  are  taken  from  Kamusio, 
whose  works  are  cited  in  the  margin  of  Hakluyt,  iii.  10-  The  reference  is 
to  the  voyage  of  1510  or  1517.  iM.  Asher  supposes  the  maps  described  by 
Gilbert  and  Willes  to  be  copies  of  the  map  of  Adams,  who  had  lamiiered 
with  Cabot's  work  alter  the  death  of  its  author. 


V 


r    :■ 


MtiMlMMM 


a^' 


I 


/ 


"  Anno  Domini  1494,*  Joannes  Cabottis  venetus,  &  Scbas- 
tinnus  illius  filiiis  earn  tcrram  feceriiut  periiiam,  qiiam  niillus 
prius  adire  ausns  fuisset,  die  24  Iiiuij,  circitcr  Iiorain  quintam 
bene  mane.  Ilanc  autem  nppellaiiit  Terram  Primiim  visani, 
credo  quod  ex  inari  in  earn  partem  primum  ociilos  inieecrat. 
Nam  quae  ex  aduerso  sita  est  insula,  earn  appcllauit  insulam 
D.  loauuis,  hac  opinor  ratione,  qu6d  aperta  fuit  eo  die  qui  est 
sacer  D.  loanni  Baptistae." 

The  following  is  from  the  "  Tabula  Prima,"  section 
viii.,  on  the  map  in  the  Imperial  Library :  — 

"  Terram  olim  nobis  clansam,  aperuit  Joannes  Cabotns  Venetus, 
ueeno  Sebastianus  Cabotus  eius  filius,  anno  ab  orbe  redcmpto 
1494,  die  uero  24  lulij,  hora  5,  sub  diluculo,  qua  terra  primu 
uisam  appollarut  et  insula  quanda  magna  ci  opposila  Insula  diui 
loanuis  uominarut,  quippe  qua;  solcuni  die  festo  diui  loannis 
aperta  fuit." 

*  In  the  tliird  volume  of  Ilakluyt'a  larger  work,  published  in  1598-1600, 
where  this  extract  from  Clement  Adams's  map  again  appears,  tlie  year  of 
the  discovery  is  given  as  1407  (tlie  true  date,  in  fact),  instead  of  1494,  though 
this  latter  is  the  date  on  the  map  in  the  Imperial  Library.  Some  writers, 
therefore,  who  are  not  tamitiar  witli  Hakluyt's  first  folio  of  1589,  where  the 
extract  first  appears,  and  who  have  consulted  only  the  later  edition,  where 
the  extract  is  given  with  the  altered  date,  have  naturally  supimsed  that 
Adams's  map  bore  the  date  1497  upon  it  as  tlie  year  of  the  discovery. 
M.  D'Avezac,  in  his  note  on  Cabot's  map  in  the  "Bulletin  de  la  Socie'te'  de 
Geographic"  {Quatriemo  Se'iie,  tome  xiv.  pp.  206-278),  and  M.  Asher,  in  his 
work  on  '•  Henry  Hudson  "  (p.  261),  published  by  the  Hakluyt  Society,  both 
express  that  opinion.  It  is  evident  to  nie,  that  Mr.  Richard  Biddle,  the  author 
of  the  "  Memoir  of  Sebastian  Cabot,"  also  never  consulted  the  first  folio  of 
Hakluyt ;  and,  never  having  seen  Cabot's  map,  he  supposed  the  date  of  the 
discovery  given  ujion  it  to  be  that  which  he  found  in  tlie  later  edition  of 
Hakluyt,  which  he  always  cites.  It  was  a  mystery  to  him  why  Harris  and 
Pinkerton  should  give  1494  as  the  year  of  the  discovery,  not  knowing  that 
that  date  was  originally  derived,  as  we  now  see,  from  Cabot's  map. 

I  observe  that  M.  D'Avezac,  in  the  note  above  referred  to,  adopts  the  date 
on  the  map  (1494)  as  the  year  of  the  discovery  made  on  a  voyage  under- 
taken prior  to  the  issuing  of  the  (mtent ;  which  was  followed  by  the  voyages 
of  1497  and  1498. 

It  may  be  asked,  upon  what  authority  did  Hakluyt  alter  the  date  from 
1494  (wiiich  we  will  suppose  be  copied  into  his  folio  of  1589  from  Adams's 
map)  to  1497  ? 

Most  of  the  published  authorities  for  the  voyages  of  the  Cabots  existing 
in  Hakluyt's  time  were  unhappily  confused,  and  even  contradictory,  and  were 


-J 


mMMm 


'^ 


mmmummmmm 


'ii|iri|iiiliii   "'■ 


6 


These  are,  evidently,  two  independent  translations 
of  a  common  original;  the  month  "lulij,"  in  the  lat- 
ter version,  which  is  not  the  same  as  in  the  Spanish 


very  unsiitisfactory  ns  to  dates.  But  one  voyage  apparently  is  spoken  of,  yet 
possibly  the  details  of  two,  in  some  of  the  accounts,  may  be  blended  into 
one.  In  Peter  Martyr's  "Third  Decade,"  publisheTl  in  1616,  no  dates  are 
given ;  though,  in  a  later  "  Decade,"  Sebastian  Cabot's  voyage  is  referred 
to  as  having  taken  place  a  certain  number  of  years  before  the  time  at  which 
Martyr  is  writing,  which  would  fix  its  date  at  1498.  I'eter  Martyr  was 
a  friend  of  Cabot,  and  used  to  entertain  him  at  ^lis  house.  Gomara,  in  the 
first  part  of  his  "  General  History  of  the  Indies,"  first  published  in 
1552,  gives  no  date.  Among  the  accounts  of  S.  Cabot's  voyage,  published 
by  Ramusio,  in  his  first  volinne,  in  1550,  the  Pope's  Legate  in  Sjjain  is  made 
to  report  a  conversation  held  with  Cabot  himself,  in  which  WM  is  given  as 
the  year  of  the  voyage  there  treated  of,  which  Eden  (fol.  255)  calls  Cabot's 
first  voyage ;  and  Cabot  is  made  to  say,  that,  on  his  return,  he  "  found  great 
tumults  among  the  people,  and  preparation  for  wars  in  Scotland,  by  reason 
whereof  there  was  no  more  consideration  had  to  this  Voyage."  This  state 
of  things  in  England  points  to  the  year  1497  ;  yet  the  voyaye  of  1498  fol- 
lowed. Thus  appears  the  confusion  in  which  these  early  narratives  are 
involved.  The  manuscript  furnished  to  Hakluyt  by  Stowe,  the  original  of 
which  was  published  by  our  associate,  Mr.  Hale,  in  the  Proceedings  for  1800, 
refers  to  the  "  13th  of  Henry  VII.,"  between  Aug.  22,  1497,  and  Aug.  21, 
1498.     This  may  now  be  cited  as  evidence  of  the  voyage  of  1498. 

It  will  be  seen  that  all  these  authorities  are  far  from  satisfactory  as  fur- 
nishing definite  data  for  the  voyage  of  discovery ;  and,  if  we  add  to  these  the 
leyende  on  Cabot's  map  (evidently  not  written  by  Cabot  himself),  the  confu- 
sion is  by  no  meanr  lessened. 

Hakluyt  makes  but  little  comment  on  the  authorities  cited  by  liim.  He 
intimates  no  opinion  as  to  whether  there  was  more  than  one  voyage.  The 
patent  of  the  5th  of  March,  1496-96,  is  an  authority  to  "  seeke  out "  and 
"discouer."  The  inevitable  inference  is,  that  it  was  granted  before  the 
voyoge  of  discovery.  Therefore  the  date  of  1494  on  the  map  would  be 
rejected  by  htm;  in  which  case  the  other  authorities  cited,  though  con- 
fused and  indefinite,  would  bring  the  inquiry  down  to  a  narrow  point. 
We  cannot  suppose,  that  Hakluyt,  in  giving  the  date  1497,  "drew  a  bow 
at  a  venture."  He  may  have  had  some  authorities  not  cited  by  him. 
Besides,  in  his  little  quarto  of  1682,  seven  years  before  the  appearance  of  his 
first  folio,  he  published  a  map  of  the  celebrated  Michael  Lok,  (which  was 
made  af^er  "  an  olde  excellent  mappe  "  of  "  John  Verazanus,"  and  given 
by  him  "to  King  Ilenrie  the  eight,")  on  which  we  find  the  words, 
"J.  Cabot,  1497,"  marked  on  the  delineation  of  Cape  Breton.  I  have 
already  referred  to  this  in  another  note,  on  pp.  2  and  3,  for  another  purpose. 

To  show  how  little  Hakluyt  analyzed  his  authorities,  in  reference  to  the 
question  as  to  the  year  in  which  the  voyage  of  discovery  was  made,  or  as  to 
whether  there  were  more  than  one  voyage,  and  to  show  how  little  these 


words  upon  the  map,  being  clearly  an  error, — as  the 
day  of  the  "  feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist "  is  "  24th 
June;"  and,  in  the  version  from  llakluyt,  the  words 


points  OL-cupietl  his  mind,  it  is  only  necessary  to  turn  to  the  preface  "  To  the 
IJeiuler"  in  liis  folio  of  1589.  He  is  tiiere  speaking  of  the  voyage  of 
tlie  Cabots  wliich  followed  the  grnntini?  to  tlieni  of"  the  letters  patentes,  .  .  . 
to  discouer  &  conquer  "  in  the  King's  nnino  "  Vnkiiowen  lU'gions  ;  "  and  he 
says  they  "  departed  with  5  suiles  from  the  Port  of  liristoll,  accompanied 
witli  300  Englishmen,  and  first  of  any  Christians  found  out  that  mightie  and 
large  tract  of  laude  and  Sea,  from  the  circle  Arcticke  as  farre  as  Florida,  aa 
appeareth  in  the  discovrse  thereof"  In  the  margin,  he  places  as  his  author- 
ity "  Robert  Fabian."  But  if  we  turn  to  page  515  of  the  volume,  on  which  the 
passage  in  Fabian  is  quoted,  we  shall  see  that  It  refers  to  "  the  13th  year 
of  King  Henry  the  7,"  ending  Aug.  "ilst,  UV6;  and  that  of  the  expedition 
there  referred  to  as  sailing,  no  tidings  had  been  received  at  the  date  of 
the  writing  of  that  account.  This  passage  of  Fabian,  therefore,  refers  to  the 
second  voyage,  that  of  1408.  Indeed,  against  this  very  passage,  printed  by 
llakluyt  in  his  little  quarto,  seven  years  before,  in  1582,  the  date  "  1498  "  is 
placed  in  the  margin.  Again,  if  we  turn  to  the  "  general  Catalogue  "  of  the 
voyages  prefi.xed  to  the  third  volume,  published  in  1600,  of  Hakluyt's  larger 
work,  we  find  the  following :  "  The  voyage  of  SclHislian  Cnhola  to  the  North 
part  of  America,  for  the  discouery  of  a  Northtaesl  iiassmje,  as  farre  as  58  degrees 
of  latitude,  and  from  thence  back  againe  all  along  the  coast,  till  he  fell  with 
some  part  of  Flon'da,  anno  1407 ;  confirmed  by  6  testimonies,"  to  which  he 
refers,  namely  :  Sebastian  Cabot's  map  cut  by  Adams,  the  two  passages  from 
Ramusio,  the  accounts  from  Peter  Martyr,  Gomara,  and  Fabian.  Now,  if  we 
turn  to  the  volume  where  these  authorities  are  given,  pp.  0-0,  we  shall  find  that 
no  one  of  them  authorizes  the  date  1407  as  the  year  of  discovery,  (supposing, 
as  we  do,  that  that  date  was  not  derived  from  the  map  he  cites),  and  proba- 
bly llakluyt  did  not  intend  to  say  that  it  did.  He  cited  these  authorities  to 
show  that  the  discovery  of  North  America  was  made  by  the  Cabots,  and  he 
seems  to  have  been  satisfied  that  "  1407  "  was  the  true  date  ;  but  it  does  not 
appear  to  have  occurred  to  him,  that  probably  but  one  of  these  accounts  refers 
to  the  first  voyage, — the  voyage  in  which  North  America  was  discovered, — 
namely,  that  on  the  map,  while  the  account  communicated  by  Sebastian  Cabot 
to  Ramusio,  and  jmblished  in  the  Preface  to  his  third  volume,  probably  refers 
to  the  later  voyage  of  1510  or  1517,  made  in  company  with  Sir  Thomas  Pert. 
(See  Riddle's  Memoir,  p.  117;  Tytler's  "Historical  View  of  the  Progress  of 
Discovery,"  &c.,  p.  30  of  Harper's  ed.).  To  these  questions,  surprising  as  it 
may  seem,  Hakluyt  appears  to  have  been  indifferent,  as  he  was  also  to  that 
relating  to  the  comparative  agency  of  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot  in  making 
the  discovery.  Hakluyt  dealt  with  the  main  question,  and  only  incidentally 
with  the  details  of  it.  Time  only  has  enhanced  the  value  of  these.  We  may 
have  useless  regrets  that  Hakluyt  did  not  better  edit  the  papers  he  has 


I  tint  ii» 


,  ^  J.-^.aA-i<;&-  .ii-Ji:-&i^ 


I 


8 

credo  and  opinor  are  undoubtedly  the  language  either 
.f  Hakluyt  or  of  the  translator,  whoever  he  may  have 
been.  Both  versions  contain  the  error  as  to  the  year 
of  the  discovery,  which,  undoubtedly,  was  1497  ;  and 
the  error  was  corrected  by  Hakluyt  in  the  third  vol- 
ume, (page  6,)  of  his  larger  work,  published  in  1598- 
1600. 

If  we  assume  that  the  map  in  the  Imperial  Library 
is  one  of  the  copies  of  the  original  edition,  and  that 
from  one  of  these  copies  also  the  map  cut  by  Clement 
Adams  was  taken,  it  is  difficult  to  explain  why  he 
should  not  have  copied  the  Latin  as  he  found  it  on 
Cabot's  map,  instead  of  making  a  new  translation 
from  the  Spanish  original  on  that  map.* 


handed  down  to  U8,  but  we  must  receive,  with  a  grateful  spirit,  his  labors,  in 
the  form  in  which  they  have  been  transmitted  to  us. 

Whatever  doubta  have  hitherto  exi8t€d  concerning  the  year  in  which 
John  Cabot  discovered  North  America,  the  recent  exhuming  of  contem- 
porary evidence,  in  the  archives  of  Spain  and  of  Venice,  must  for  ever  put 
them  to  rest,  and  confirm  the  statement  of  Hakluyt,  in  the  third  volume  of 
bis  largest  work  (where  he  is  apparently  citing  the  l^gende  on  Adams's  map), 
that  1497  is  the  true  date.  I  take  pleasure  in  referring  to  the  admirable 
summary  of  these  authorities,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hale,  in  the  Report  of  the 
Council  of  this  Society  for  October,  1865,  in  the  Proceedings  of  that  date, 
pp.  19-26.  , 

*  The  ygende  above  quoted  from  t^  .  anap  in  the  Imperial  Library,  ia  thus  e»-! 
pressed  In  the  original  Spanish,  whlcn  is  also  on  the  map:  "Esta  tierra  ft»*  det- 
eubierta  por  Joan  Caboto  veneolano  y  Sebastian  Caboto  su  hijo,  anno  del  nacimien^ 
de  nuostro  Salvador  Jesu-Christo,  de  M.CCCO.XCnil,  a  viente  y  qnatro  de  Junlo " 
por  la  mannana,"  &o.— See  BulUtin  de  la  BocUti  dt  Giogrofhie,  4th  S^rie,  tome 
ziv.,  p.  270.  ,_   ..^^-- 


'•mtm 


■■ 


I 


V 


-  jUdieasiSiAwnii^ati^aiiMMitwIw^i^^^' 


